Coming to Terms
by Silverblacktears
Summary: Harper has some things to think about - Final chapter now up!
1. Chapter one Trance

Coming to Terms  
  
Chapter one - Trance  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Andromeda, if I did Harper would be the main character and . well that need not be said.  
  
This fic sits just after the episode when Harper tries to off himself after the incident with Rommie, I don't know the episode title and I should do but you should all know which I mean! I hope. Having just seen the third episode of the season I must say that it left some questions, namely, 'why is Harper himself again so quickly after trying to kill himself?' So this is a fill in fic.  
  
Authors Note: I am not the biggest fan ever of Andromeda but the story line with Harper and his Magog eggs is angsty and I like writing angst stuff. So please forgive me my errors, which are probably frequent, I hope I do credit to the character I have stolen for now.  
  
Enjoy the ride people  
  
~*~*~  
  
He lay on his back, looking up at the ceiling for the longest time, one of his legs was raised and the other one was rested on it. He had tried to sleep, yet every time he tried to the cruel nightmares assailed his mind. He was not sure how long he had laid there too afraid to turn off the lights to make the room darker. Someone knocked on the door and he was prepared to ignore it, not really wishing for company as much as he wished to escape the waking nightmares. The person outside tried again to gain his attention, not knowing that they all ready had it; in a way, it was fun to try to work out who was there. It could not be Tyr; as much as the Nietzschean had helped, they still were not the best of friends. Dylan was probably off being busy somewhere and usually just got Rommie to contact him if he were needed. Beca was on the Moru, trying to sort out the craft and seemingly wanting time alone too. Rev Bem was praying, spending time alone also; apparently, no one really seemed to want to speak to one another. This only left one possible person who could be standing at the door, "Harper, it's me, let me in." Her voice cut through to him.  
  
He could hear the worry in her voice and for all his fears; he could not leave her outside alone. He went to open the door, meeting her keen smile with exhausted eyes. "I just wondered if you were hungry," She attempted brightly, the word hungry made him think illogically of the ever-hungry Magog and in turn of the Larvae. He shook his head without words, "You've not eaten in days, that's not right."  
  
Whilst he knew what she meant, he was not one to turn down a meal, he still felt angry. "Yeah, well, this isn't right either is it Trance?" He half snapped at her, she did not seem to be angry at his outburst letting him vent his frustration at her.  
  
When she knew he was feeling worst she offered up a smile, "Please, just come and have something to eat." This made him flinch again, "It's pointless to starve yourself." She told him honestly; she was worried about him in all honesty; he was not sleeping or eating and he looked awful. "When we find a way to make you better you're not going to want to be half starved,"  
  
"If,"  
  
"Pardon?"  
  
"If we find a way Trance,"  
  
He suddenly realised that she was steering him towards where the food was kept. "Don't be such a pessimist, every ailment has a cure, and it's just a case of finding it." She assured him brightly.  
  
"I'll remind you of our limited time frame here,"  
  
Dylan was sitting eating, he looked up as they entered and greeted them with a smile that convinced Harper that he and Rommie had spoken about what had happened. "Rommie told me what you did for her, I hear you're the reason we have a ship to return to."  
  
"No problem," 'I had to do it, to prove I could' "I've still got a lot to do,"  
  
"Take the rest of today off,"  
  
Harper lowered his head, chiefly so that he was not in an infuriating eye lock with Dylan Hunt, thinking for a moment; usually the idea of a break would be relished but then there would be nothing to divide his attention. "I'd prefer to get on with it," 'To keep active is not to think' "There's so much to be done." 'And I don't mean with the ship' Trance made sure that he sat down, going to fetch some food for them both.  
  
Dylan's eyes locked with the engineers, he could see how tired Harper looked and tried to imagine just what was going through his head, what the man had to be feeling. He spent far too long in his ponderings, unable to place himself into the situation; all he knew was that he would be very scared and confused. "Well I'd best go," He said standing, knowing on some level how uncomfortable he was making Harper.  
  
Harper looked slowly towards Trance who was now sitting besides him. Nothing was said and the silence lingered uncomfortably as he tried to bring himself to eat, yet all he could seem to do was look at the plate. Trance was very quiet; he could feel the shift of the air as her tail affected its flow near to his feet. "Please say something." Her soft comment broke the silence and drew his eyes slowly back to hers; she gave a small sad smile. "Please, anything."  
  
"What are my chances?" 'Do I want to know?' "How many million to one? It's hopeless, I feel hopeless having to sit here and wait for the inevitable." 'Broken and unfixable.' "I'm an engineer, I can't fix this, I can't see a way around it!"  
  
She looked down from him; she had expected this to be his answer the two had been friends long enough for her to know just what he was thinking most of the time. She thought for a long time, she knew that he knew how worried they all were about everything going on with him. "Want a game of Basket ball?" She asked at last, whilst he was not the most active person on the ship the distraction would serve him well.  
  
"I appreciate the effort Trance but it's not going to work."  
  
"It won't if you keep being so determined to think on it." She insisted, "Some people think forgetting is a state of mind, all you have to do is to not think about it." She stood, not waiting for him to say something sarcastic in reply, her sinuous tail curling about his wrist pulling him up.  
  
~*~*~ 


	2. Chapter two Connotations

Coming to Terms  
  
Chapter 2 - Connotations  
  
AN: OK maybe I am a fan of 'Andromeda' after all. Rommie's Voice - Thanks for the review, I realise that telling people I don't know the show well is a little dumb and to be honest I do love Harper so that fair's enough. Your review helped me because people never review my work so thank you! I was worried about the characters but if you think I have it right, then thank you again. This is indeed not finished . ok it is, I finished writing it but I need to post it! Dataport - Hmm I wondered about the spelling for a brief moment, thank you, I've changed it for the later chapters. Joan - Thank you all ways good to know I'm doing ok! I'm uh . am from the Uk yes, hence some of the spellings. Drakcir - Sinuous means lithe or supple, able to be curled, like Trance's tail.  
  
Something I neglected to mention was that I suck with the whole internet doing thing, so there are parts of this in the original fiction which were in italics, these parts are marked with '' .. I was trying to use these to show you Harper's thoughts on things and I only ever try to get into his head so no one else's thoughts are seen.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The ball hit the backboard, rolling once around the hoops rim before going in; she stuck her tongue out at him, looking triumphant. She threw him the ball; the two were not playing basketball as such, just shooting hoops, seeing who would win out of them. "What are you doing?" Tyr's voice boomed across to them.  
  
"Basketball," Unfocused on the other being, Harper informed him; he lined up his shot and the ball clipped the rim before going in. "The refuge of the damned."  
  
Trance looked towards him, clearly, the game had not distracted him as much as she had hoped; he smiled at her but there was clearly no heart to the grin. "Tyr, do you want to join us?" She invited, hoping that the addition of another played would make the game more interesting, the Nietzschean looked baffled and then annoyed.  
  
"As much fun as that sounds I've got more important things to be done, this ship is in a state," He told her simply. He looked purposefully at Harper, making it quite clear whom he thought should be fixing the state of the ship when he had glowered enough he left. The two stood in silence for a long while.  
  
Harper looked to Trance and she pretended that she could not feel his eyes on her, burrowing slowly into her soul. "He's right; it's my job to fix Rommie up, I'd better get back to work." Trance felt annoyed at Tyr briefly, for he had interrupted at the point where she seemed to be getting somewhere. She watched as her friend wiped his brow quickly and left.  
  
~*~*~  
  
As much as he had tried to get away from the smell of the Magog, the scent had corrupted everything all but making him wretch. 'I bet the little guys are enjoying this; well they'll enjoy it even more when they are born and then are shot! Ha!' A sound from behind him made him freeze to the spot, a breath catching painfully in his throat. Sweat beaded on his forehead quickly, but he did not notice it as he chanced a look back.  
  
He let the breath out that he had been holding, all but collapsing onto his side; a hand rubbed his forehead, just managing to dash away the few tears of utter fear that had sprang into his eyes. "Sorry, I did not mean to startle you." The Magog crawled towards him as Harper tried to look casual, yet he was invisibly shaking so much that what he was trying to work on would not seem to go together.  
  
"It's ok, now you're here you can help me with these repairs." He was in one of the outermost conduits on the ship, Rev Bem must have come looking for him for there was no way that chance had brought him there. The Magog took up a tool and started to work besides him in silence, in the quiet a quote sprang into his mind; one which was so pointless that he focused on it 'No one hears what may be said, when sun is faded and moon is dead.' He thought about it for a little while, repeating it in his mind. ''When sun is faded' there's either the one sun or lots of little ones,' He reasoned. 'So it's many or one. Or of course it could mean the death of the sun - but then that'd be dead not faded.'  
  
Rev Bem paused for a long moment in the silence, noting the human seemed to be distracted, deep were the thought lines the marred his forehead. "What are you thinking?" Harper jumped slightly and the Magog regretted making him startle in such a way. "Sorry," Harper shook his head to show that he did not place fault.  
  
"This quote thing keeps bugging me; I'm trying to work out what it means."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
Harper placed the tool down he had been using, looking for a moment on the furred being besides him. "'No one hears what may be said, when sun is faded and moon is dead.'" He quoted at Rev Bem; the two fell more silent then before. "It's a dumb quote, forget it."  
  
"Your mind is using it as a distraction."  
  
Harper sighed slightly, suddenly all the thoughts and feelings that had been unconsciously suppressed were back, the things he had fought so hard to repress. "Harper," Rev Bem realised his error in telling Harper about the minds ways. He thought for a while, if only he could make Harper think on something other then his problem; "You could take the final line in many ways." The human did not look up, keeping his head lowered. "It could mean the literal fading of the sun and death of the moon, the point in the day at which the daylight is fading and yet the moon has not yet risen. At this point not many are awake so not many hear what is said."  
  
"Or it could mean death,"  
  
The human's voice was very low, very troubled and very pained. Rev Bem gritted his teeth, he had been trying to steer the conversation away from the quotes more obvious connotations. "A morbid thought,"  
  
"Funnily enough it was one of the first,"  
  
Another awkward silence fell, Harper's hand strayed to the tool again and he continued in his work. The Magog Monk said nothing but set to his own work. In the narrow crawl space a small alarm rang out louder then it would elsewhere, Harper answered its call, crawling form the vent; it could not be easy for him to forget when he had to remember to take medicine.  
  
~*~*~  
  
AN: The more observant of you will know where I stole Harper's mind quote from . Gollum says it in 'The Two Tower's' which funnily enough isn't mine either. Leave a review if you can be bothered please, I do take everything in and hope to work on improving it.  
  
For the record, I've not seen much further then this episode, infact I have to wait for Sunday's and it's not fun! 


	3. Chapter three Knowing What you must face

Coming to Terms  
  
Chapter three - Knowing what you must face  
  
Echo 24 - Thank you, I agree, Harper angst is much needed. Nureek - You want the next chapter? You want to see what's next? Not a lot! LMAO Parisindy - Cute? I hate cute but it was what I was hoping for, have joined site, I think you noticed! Lmao Shaz - Thank you, Two towers does indeed rock, it's my fave movie at the moment. Rev's pretty cool too. I'm glad you liked the door bit, I was sure it was a little simple at first but it seemed to fit. The episode was called 'The Widening Gyre' my mum got me the companion thing for my 18th (October 2nd).  
  
~*~*~  
  
After he had taken his meds, Harper made his way back to where he had been working. 'Cold in hand and heart and bone, cold be travellers far from home.' He paused in his stride as the quote assailed his mind. 'What is it with my brain today?' He continued on trying to clear his head of all thoughts, 'To me or not to be, that is the question,' He mentally growled at himself, 'Stupid Shakespeare, ´ He thought bitterly, he had never studied Shakespeare in his life and yet the dead English bard had seemed to find a way into his mind anyway. 'Ok brain, here's the deal no more quotes.'  
  
He was soon entering the narrow crawl space upon his hands and knees; he was entering from the direction he had left, the opposite way that Rev Bem had entered, "Rev, you still around?" He questioned before he rounded the corner.  
  
"Yes, of course,"  
  
"Good,"  
  
He was soon next to the Magog, lying on his back so he could repair things. "Do you think we'll get the ship fixed before she gets hit again?" Harper queried, more for something to say then for not knowing, 'Andromeda' could fix herself if need be.  
  
"It is your job to ensure she works,"  
  
"I suppose,"  
  
There was a short silence, Harper felt awkward and he knew the Magog felt as bad. "Harper," Rev Bem started and yet he seemed unable to continue. The young blond haired male looked to him; somehow, the manic energy had vanished from his eyes to be replaced by fear, hopelessness and sleepiness. "Why are you out here? Would you not be of more use in engineering?"  
  
Harper's eyes want to the decking, Rev Bem was right his place was in engineering but he could not bring himself to be back in there - whilst he had had to be there to help fix 'Andromeda' he was not sure that he could bring himself to go back there again without a due cause. "Uh . yeah, I have stuff to do out here first."  
  
Rev Bem's brown eyes locked with Harper's, the screaming pain of Harper's soul leaking out through the sparkling blue jewels. "Perhaps you are avoiding it," He tried softly, thinking for a moment that he had gone too far. The boy dropped his gaze away from the aliens; he had managed to target the issue without much effort. "If someone were with you then I am sure it would help."  
  
"You offering?"  
  
"If you think my presence would help,"  
  
"It can't make things any worse," The two quickly gathered up the equipment and Harper made the crawl back to the wider corridors quickly, turning to help Rev Bem up, ignoring the slight clench in his stomach as he did so.  
  
~*~*~  
  
AN: Quotes this time are from Gollum again, I do not own the Lord of the Rings still, but hell do I want it. And the Quote 'To be or not to be' is from Hamlet, a play I studied last year and the speech is about suicide if you wondered about the significance, I would if I did not know.  
  
Please leave a review if you see fit. 


	4. Chapter Four Simple Realities

Coming to Terms  
  
Chapter Four - Simple Realities  
  
Thank you to all the people on the forum thingame, ok my English skill has gone poof seeing as I've not been to college for three days but I will go tomorrow . I will stay there for longer then an hour too . long story! Here's the next chapter, enjoy it, there are only two more left now.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"It took him long enough to come in here last time,"  
  
Dylan looked towards his ships human avatar, wiping the sweat from his brow. "He's scarred Rommie," The captain was doing some of the work he had previously relied on Harper to do. He cursed aloud as he singed another finger; he stuck the sore into his mouth, allowing the saliva to heal it.  
  
The door went and Dylan looked up, more then a little surprised to see Harper standing rigidly in the doorway; he stayed frozen that way for a while, his all ready troubled mind lost in memories. Dylan caught sight of Rev Bem standing just behind Harper and nodded slightly. "It's good that your down here again Harper."  
  
The engineer looked to him but did not seem to register his presence, looking hurt, confused and dazed. "Maybe now you're here you can look at that for me, every time I think I'm getting somewhere I end up frying my fingers." As if for proof, he held up the three, burnt, fingers.  
  
This worked in snapping the engineer out of his daze; he looked past Dylan at the conduit. "You would do, you've got to cut the flow first." He removed what looked like an enlarged hairclip from his equipment and moved to the conduit, snapping the clip in place. "Now you can run repairs on it without hurting your fingers. Just make sure you remember to take the clip off or you've got to find a very good engineer or a new ship." Dylan smiled ever so slightly, glad that the young human was outwardly a little better.  
  
"I'll leave that in your more then capable hands," he said, glad to be away from the tedious and yet necessary repair work. He lost sight of the young man as Harper ducked beneath the panel. "A quick word Rev Bem,"  
  
The two walked outside, the door shutting behind them, leaving the android inside with Harper. "How'd you manage to get him to go back in there?" Dylan could not help but ask, the Magog held himself as was usual, looking up slightly to the tall human.  
  
"He just does not want to be alone; I told him that someone would stay with him."  
  
"How long do you think it'll take before he can be left alone in there again?"  
  
As much as Dylan had come to trust and be friends with 'Andromeda's' new crew he still needed a fully operational engineer. The shaggy furred being shook his head. "As long as it needs," He said vaguely. "Harper is a young man staring at his own mortalities closeness, nothing much can help with that." Regret marked his voice for a while and Dylan nodded; he was not sure how he would face the situation that Harper was in.  
  
His hand went to the Monks shoulder, "Help him as much as you can."  
  
"I can only try, Harper must first help himself."  
  
"As much as you can,"  
  
The human set a brisk pace away from him, heading to the command deck. Rev Bem paused for thought a moment outside the door. "Have you told anyone what you nearly did to yourself?" The avatars voice cut clearly to him and he paused for a moment more.  
  
"Pass me that tool," The young male's voice was quieter and partially ordering. "No, why would I?"  
  
"It makes me significantly uncomfortable being the only one who knows."  
  
"I'm 'significantly uncomfortable' too Rommie!"  
  
There was a pause in which Rommie moved and Harper paused in his work for a brief moment. "You have to tell someone what you nearly did,"  
  
The Magog held his breath; he feared he knew what was coming. "Put it down to what it is Rommie, suicide!" The fated words passed Harper's lips and Rev Bem closed his, he had feared that Harper would try to kill himself. "If I'm going to die anyway then what's the point in this senseless waiting?!"  
  
"Because there's a chance ."  
  
"Because you all refuge to face the simple reality - I'm dying!" The brutal tones to his voice made the listening being shake his head, it was sad that Harper seemingly had no hope at all.  
  
He re-entered the room, this was going to take a lot longer then it had seemed initially, Rommie left as he was entering seeming to realise that he had overheard, infact it was probably her intention. There was an awkward pause, in which Harper kept working. "I . heard what was said,"  
  
"No great surprise, it was probably what she wanted! She wasn't being very subtle."  
  
"A life without hope is a bleak place."  
  
Harper stood, walking to place a tool down, coming face to face with Rev Bem, he ignored the contact and went back to what he was doing but he was feeling very uncomfortable. "Even in the blackest night we know the solace of sunrise will end it. We will find a way, Seamus, we will find the answer." The two locked eyes again, a desperate hope in Harper's eyes.  
  
The door opened again and the moment was broken; Harper had ducked back under the panel when Rev Bem's eyes had been turned to the door. "Oh, I didn't know you were here." Trance's voice cut through the quiet. "Dylan asked me to help him down here."  
  
"Dylan left when Harper arrived."  
  
"Harper?"  
  
"Yeh?"  
  
She looked around quickly for him, seeming to be happy that he was there and she smiled slightly. "Do you want me to stay here and help?" She queried, Rev Bem excused himself and left, he had to think and to pray for an improbable miracle.  
  
~*~*~ 


	5. Chapter Five Unexpected Comfort

Coming to Terms  
  
Chapter five - Unexpected Comfort  
  
AkaJipster - thank you, I am glad that people are enjoying this, I had a good time putting the characters voices into my head! I have this habit of hearing voices in my head as I write, Harper wouldn't shut the hell up! Parisindy - More? Not much left now - I was thinking about sticking a Harper POV on the end of it all but I keep thinking better of it. What do you think? Rommiesvoice - 'What's it with my brain today?' was what I have been thinking of late. Thank you twice. Drakcir - Continue? If you so wish! Shaz - Indeed, I did notice about the companion. Thanks for the belated birthday wishes and for the compliments, I find it hard to take such praise. *Bows* I was a little unsure about the 'significantly uncomfortable' conversation for a while but I left it in, I'm glad you liked it.  
  
~*~*~  
  
When Harper was finished with his first set of repairs on the 'Andromeda', he was grabbed by Tyr to do some work on the Maru, he was glad to be off the battle ship and away from the lingering scent of the Magog. On the small quiet ship he was able to get away from people too so that he could be alone for a while. He was lying on his back running some repairs, a yawn raked his body and the tool fell from his grasp as he slipped into a fitful sleep.  
  
The nightmares assailed his defenceless mind after about an hour and a half, he awoke screaming, thrashing at the invisible foes. When he knew he was awake, he sat with his back against the wall panting for a while, trying to calm himself down. 'Funny, I didn't even know I was asleep.' He sat forward so that his head was rested on his up raised knees his mind trying to gain some sense of normality. 'Normality, what a joke!'  
  
"Are you down there little man?"  
  
The question made him jump slightly; he sighed and nodded to himself 'Focus Seamus, focus.' "What? Uh . yeah,"  
  
"'Uh . yeah'?"  
  
"That's it mock away."  
  
Tyr crawled slowly towards him, his bigger size making for a difficult trip unlike Harper's lithe form; the engineer took up his tool again and started to work again. "I tried to contact you, you must have been busy." He nodded slightly to the Nietzschean's comment; he was aware of how scruffy his hair looked, making it clear that he had been asleep. "As a child my mother used to tell me stories of great warriors that used to fight away nightmares."  
  
The look to the human's eyes was cynical and slightly confused, clearly Tyr knew he had been sleeping. "Oh and who is stupid enough to go chasing the Magog?" He questioned, "And it won't work anyway, nothing really does."  
  
"So what do you plan to do? Snatch hours when you are most tired?"  
  
"If I can do that!"  
  
The snap echoed slightly, a pause slipped into the air between the two for a long moment. "I'd fight the Magog." Tyr told him proudly, Harper looked towards the strong being with something of a question on his face. "They're just like anything else ."  
  
"Everything else doesn't go around infesting people."  
  
Tyr ignored what he said easily, "They can be killed like anything else." Harper yawned out of his sleepiness; his head still clung to the snatches of sleep he had been getting. "The Magog are not unbeatable, without a kill they will digest their internal organs; shoot one and they will die."  
  
"No ones ever survived an infestation!"  
  
"I did,"  
  
This caught Harper and he fell silent again; Tyr was thinking about what to say next as the engineer still worked. "What would you do if some unknown invaded 'Andromeda'?"  
  
The unusual nature of the question drew Harper's gaze before it returned to the panel and he shrugged slightly. "I don't know, same as usual, I'd try to help." He attempted unsure of why he was being asked. "I'd fix the bigger things that go wrong."  
  
"You'd try to ensure our survival?"  
  
"Hmm . yeah I guess."  
  
Tyr had the human in the metaphorical corner he had been aiming for in his conversation. "But surely it would be easier to die when the ship blows up rather then by some other means." He suggested simply, clearly he knew of Harper's suicide attempt and Harper wondered if anyone had not heard. "Just let the ship blow up,"  
  
Harper looked at him, "But that'd kill everyone, guilt on my soul and all that stuff."  
  
"Do you not think that it kills those you know to see you so defeated?"  
  
Harper's gaze snapped back up to the taller beings maddeningly calm gaze. Tyr was right of course, it was starting to affect everyone around Harper to see him so hopeless. "What do you want me to do? I can't see how it can be done." 'I don't see the hope you all do.'  
  
"I want you to accept that there could be a way, a thin chance which is made better by one who can seemingly manipulate the odds."  
  
"Why can't anyone accept the inevitable? This is a hopeless situation - if it weren't for that drug I'd be dead all ready!"  
  
Tyr caught the error in Harper's phrasing, "The drug discovered by Trance with help from Rev Bem, pausing your inevitable situation and giving you more time." He looked to what Harper was working on, wondering just what the engineer was doing re-soldering the same unit more then twice. "I have learnt on this ship that things are never impossible, just improbable."  
  
"When you've been fed that a certain number of times you stop hearing it."  
  
"She can be an annoying creature but Trance may be right in this case."  
  
"So your figuring that because you were able to be treated the same applies to a weak Human with an immune deficiency?" Something struck Harper, a startling revelation that he should not have had pouncing on him in the dark corridor. "You feel guilty don't you?"  
  
"For what? Being stronger then you are?"  
  
"No, for being able to be cured."  
  
Tyr shook his head, looking into Harper's exhausted face. "No," He told him simply. "Why feel guilt over a situation that cannot be changed?" Harper nodded slightly, Tyr was right again. "Especially when you know that something can be done for 'the weak human with an immune deficiency'."  
  
~*~*~ 


	6. Chapter Six 'Normality'

Coming to Terms  
  
Chapter Six - 'Normality'  
  
~*~*~  
  
Rommie made her way to where she knew that Harper would be, sitting alone in the med bay after having taken his meds. Taking a sip from his bottle of Sparky cola, she thought that he would be trying to pluck himself up after taking the meds, which tended to make him more downcast. He heard her familiar footfalls and turned to her, "Hey Rom Doll," He took a sip from his drink. "You want something."  
  
"No,"  
  
Rommie followed his gaze to the viewer, pondering on what he was finding so interesting out there, the sun was just appearing on the horizon bathing her outer hull in a golden light. He was not looking at anything in particular, lost more in his thoughts then in the view. 'The Darkness will end.' "Take a load off," He hastily shoved an empty cola bottle out of her way, she sat beside him. "I'd offer you a Sparky but there wouldn't be much point."  
  
She nodded, glad of his slightly better attitude, "Dylan has more repair work for you to do," She told him, more out of something to say then for any other reason.  
  
He nodded; he raised his knees so that his feet were rested on the bed, his arms folded up on his narrow chest and his chin rested down onto his lower arms. "I know, I told Rev what to do I could take my meds." The shapely avatar nodded, she was sitting in a very strait and proud way mimicking her personality. He looked sideways at her, "I'm curious Rommie, what you doing here?"  
  
"I thought that you would like some company,"  
  
He locked eyes with her, the blue eyes looked so tired and listless and yet delight filled his eyes at the idea of her consideration. "You're checking up on me," He did not make his point as a question but as a statement, he clearly knew of her intentions, "Thanks."  
  
The silence that fell was the most comfortable of the day and was more like it had been before his infestation, "I realised something today, there is always tomorrow, at least for now. I'm sorry that I wouldn't fix you, it was . stupid of me. There's no need to make other peoples life a misery because I can't see the way, there is no need for you all to face what I feel."  
  
He let his legs dangle down again, opening out slightly. "Perhaps, we want to face it." She told him very softly, he looked at her and a funny sense of understanding passed between them; whilst he could be replaced Rommie saw Harper more as a friend then just an engineer, in return he had formed a connection with her too. "We have been thinking about your nightmares." He closed his eyes for a brief moment, trying to fight the images off mentally. "I can feed images and sounds to you, which should distract your brain."  
  
The two looked eyes; Trance, Rev Bem and herself had spoken in depth whilst Harper was on the 'Moru', it had been the joint decision that the engineer needed sleep more then anything at that moment, seeing as he himself realised that he should be doing it. "What if it doesn't work?"  
  
"Than we try something else,"  
  
He nodded slightly, he was glad that he had such good friends when they were needed so badly. The promise of sleep made him feel a lot better, he was becoming more exhausted per minute and he knew it was making him snappier then usual. "Thanks Rommie, I mean that. Not right now though," He motioned the Sparky Cola in his hand and she nodded.  
  
He stood and offered her a hand up and she took it and stood. "I'd better go and make sure that Rev hasn't messed things up, not that he isn't bad at it but he isn't me. Frankly, how the hell does he do anything with those fingers?" He winked at Rommie with a grin; suddenly she saw the old Seamus Harper and was glad of it.  
  
"So Rom, you miss having a big crew? I always wondered what it must be like for you going from having a huge crew to having six of us. I can't imagine going from being really busy to being really quiet like that, I mean I'm looking forward to when you get a bigger crew, less work for me."  
  
She almost laughed at his sudden change in personality, noting that Sparky Cola had some beneficial side effects. "It's different, things do not get fixed as quickly any more, which has nothing to do with your skills. It is not as messy either, present company's quarters excluded."  
  
The two entered engineering, Rev Bem stood as he entered looking a little annoyed. "'Hold the wire between your third and forth fingers' very funny Harper." Harper graced him with a slight grin; clearly, he was up to making jokes again. "I managed to fix it,"  
  
He moved to the panel as he started speaking, "Rom, work out how long I should leave before trying to sleep." He threw back the remains of his cola leaving the bottle sitting on the top of the panel. "I'm going to guess it will take a while, I've had two in an hour, on no food intake."  
  
"A situation which need be rectified,"  
  
"I'm with you there Rev," He lay on his back to look at the Magog's work, "Not bad, not quite as good as I would have done but frankly it's a high standard to hit." He flicked at it, testing that it would hold and a metal sound rang around the room, he removed the clip from the conduit and stood.  
  
'The Darkness ends now.'  
  
"So about that food ."  
  
~*~*~  
  
End  
  
AN: Hmm . I'm thinking about sticking Harper's thoughts on the end, what do people think to that? Please leave a review if you see fit. 


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